People protest at the Common Core Education Forum at Ward Melville High School on Nov. 12, 2013. Photo Credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara

One morning this past week, as I was listing for my daughter her many stellar attributes and achievements, I was struck with worry. We've all heard about "tiger parenting," but what if I've become something worse? What if I have become a "My Little Pony" parent?

We've all met them or seen them. Most of us have been them. And mostly, when we have, we've done our kids more harm than good.

The term tiger parenting was popularized by author, Yale law professor and (somewhat) reformed psycho-obsessive mom Amy Chua. Tiger parents try to drive their kids toward excellence by insisting they work harder and do better. Chua didn't let her two daughters have sleepovers, made them practice violin and piano for hours each day, found anything less than an A+ unacceptable and once rejected a birthday card from her 4-year-old because she found the quality wanting.

That's extreme, but most of us, at least on the official "Chua/ Tiger/Children Trying to Tunnel Out of the House Under the Cover of Night scale," don't have much to worry about. What we have to watch out for is going too far in the other direction. That's becoming noticeable a week before this year's Common Core standardized testing begins for grades three through eight.

Some parents plan to keep their kids from taking the tests to shield them from feelings of inadequacy.

This is the second year of tests based on Common Core standards in New York, and last year's results were daunting. The percentage of kids who met or exceeded the accepted skill level was half what it was the previous year, with about 30 percent of students statewide hitting the mark.

With those negative results still reverberating, news reports say plenty of moms and dads are looking to go the "My Little Pony" parent route and make sure their children don't encounter a test (or a test result) that leaves them feeling less than superb and masterful.

The tests are tough? The kids just won't take them.

The implementation of Common Core in New York has been bumpy, but there are positive aspects to the exams. They are much more skill-based than the past ones, and less susceptible to "teaching to the test."

Taking the only tests on offer may tell parents, teachers and students something about skill levels. Not taking them will tell us nothing at all.

The parents who keep their kids from taking the tests will accomplish something I thought impossible. They will soften and degrade the process of parenting even more than we already have, trading in: "As long as you did your best, I'm proud of you" for "That's OK, honey. You didn't try at all, and that's what counts. We're so proud of you."